GTMS "Fritz Heckert", German Democratic Republic. Postcard

GTMS Fritz Heckert

Postcard published by Heldge-Farbfotoverlag, Köthen/Anhalt, P 1/69, ODR 11-15-17.

The Fritz Heckert was built at the VEB Mathias-Thesen shipyard in Wismar. She was launched on June 25, 1959 under the provisional name Solidarität, and on April 15, 1961 she was handed over to the Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund entity. On May 1 of the same year she began her maiden voyage with stops in Helsinki, Leningrad and Riga; She later made official and tourist trips to the Baltic, Iceland, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. She carried more than 63,000 passengers and made calls at 59 ports in 24 countries. She was the most important ship of the German Democratic Republic, and she was named in honor of Friedrich Carl Heckert (1884-1936), co-founder of the Spartakusbund (Spartaquist League or Spartacus League) and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). In May 1972 she was converted into a floating dormitory for the workers of the VEB Volkswerft shipyard in Stralsund. In April 1982 she was transferred to the VEB Deutfracht-Seereederei company in Rostock and in 1986 she was transferred to the service of the VEB Kombinat “Bruno Leuschner” nuclear power plant in Greifswald. In April 1991 it was sold to the Hamburg-based Gulf Offshore Engineering company, renamed Gulf Fantasy and positioned in Dubai as accommodation for oil industry personnel in the region, until in March 1999 it was sold for scrapping in Mumbai, India. The ship, of 8,115 gross tons and 1,923 deadweight tons, measured 141.30 m in length overall and 17.60 m in beam, had accommodation for 369 passengers distributed in 112 double, 33 triple and 14 quadruple cabins and 181 crew members, two pools, two restaurants and several lounges.

Traveler's collection.